‘Idhayam Murali’ movie review: Atharvaa and gang charm through a breezy yet underwritten film
A review of the film 'Idhayam Murali', starring Atharvaa, which explores themes of unexpressed love and coming-of-age. The critic praises the film's charm but notes that it suffers from weak narrative construction and inconsistent emotional depth.
Why it matters
Film criticism provides cultural context for regional cinema and influences audience consumption patterns.
For a good part of my adulthood, I have embraced Ilaiyaraaja’s ‘Pottu Vaitha’ song from 1991’s Idhayam , often reminiscing about the remnants of a long-forgotten emotion. Talk about the magic a good song can create in a narrative; the song not only revealed to the audience the depths of the secret admiration Raja (Murali) had for Geetha (Heera), but it also became an emotional shorthand for a love that was felt too deeply to be spoken aloud. Now, Idhayam Murali comes in 2026, where Murali’s son Atharvaa stars as another man who buries his feelings rather than expressing them.
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